Yu-Gi-Oh Arc-5DMXal: Book 2 - Advent of the Shadow Riders
by Zero Slash One
Summary: After a tumultuous series of events in the alternate dimensions, the gang are stranded on an alternate earth. They really sort-of mind. AU, Series Rewrite, Anime/Manga verse mix.
1. The Next King of Games - Redux

**AN: Firstly, let me just say that I have no actual plot planned out for this story, other than 'Yu-Gi-Oh GX sans Jaden', and revisiting the entire storyline, albeit with changes of varying magnitude, which I suppose constitutes a plot in its own right, but I digress...  
><strong>

**Secondly, in regards to the summary's terminology, this story is an AU, both in the sense that Jaden has (somehow) excised both himself and Yubel from all twelve dimensions of the YGO-verse spacetime continuum, and in the sense that some changes don't naturally flow from that non-event.**

**By the latter, I mean that for the planned majority of this story, Alexis uses the Ice/White Night Deck instead of the Cyber Dancer Deck. Furthermore, Atticus won't be among the Shadow Riders: Who will be in his place is yet to be determined.  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Similar to the visual of Elemental Mirage or Destiny Mirage, the crystalline fragments of the spacetime continuum were pieced back together. Crowler awoke with a sharp gasp to unfamiliar surroundings and faces, and the ringing of his cell-phone, from his back-pocket.<p>

He reached for his pocket and extracted the device. A dainty finger flicked open the gray-slated phone, and he held it to his ear; if memory served, it was Chancellor Sheppard with a chastising reminder, he recalled faintly. "Ah, Chancellor Sheppard," Vellian greeted amiably to his caller.

"Just calling to make sure everything's running smoothly, Crowler," the Chancellor began, sounding, to the Department Chair of Techniques, a bit worried, for a reason that eluded the blond. "Wouldn't want a repeat of what happened last year... when you cut a _third _of our student applicants for some _ridiculous_ reason. What was it? Calling you 'Mister' or Mrs'? Whatever. Just make sure everyone gets a fair shot," he finished.

"Absolutely," Vellian replied matter-of-factly, and hung up; that particular crazed notion of his would indeed be cause for concern, he mused off-handedly. He then rose from his chair, walking off with the parting remark, "Pardon me, gentleman, I'll be right back," for the lavender-attired personnel.

Several of them stared in confusion at him; his occasional eccentricity was a known fact, but this behavior was simply senseless.

"Doctor Crowler, where exactly are you going?" a dark-haired male called out to him; he paused in his tracks, and turned. "The applications are over; the ferry departs soon," he reminded the Department Chair._  
><em>

Crowler had the good grace to look as though he had fallen to earth from the moon while trying to prevent an alien space lizard from causing an abandoned space station to crash into the planet; perhaps that simile was not quite right, as he was not Shadow the Hedgehog, Duel Academy Island was not the Space Colony ARK, and there was simply no Biolizard anywhere in the equation, so the metaphor was less than entirely apt.

_"Jaden must really have done it," _Vellian thought, but a bit shaken, _"I never thought it possible, but he really must have removed himself and Yubel from time and space... but if so, how can I remember it? This is starting to sound more convoluted than a Doctor Who novel... The Ancestor Cell, my foot..._ Ah yes, I must have dozed off slightly," he explained absently.

The somewhat odd occurrence was quickly brushed off by them, and about an hour later, the ferry to Duel Academy Island was sailing lackadaisically through the quiet waters. Scores of students, attired in Slifer Red or Obelisk Blue or Ra Yellow varyingly, littered both the visible open areas of the ship and the interior.

Nearly all of the first-year Reds and Yellows watched the ever-nearing island, with its immense and foreboding center building, with a wide spectrum of emotions: Some regarded the island with hushed awe, others felt as though they were looking directly at the face of the devil himself, others still didn't sweat it. For a select few, it was extremely familiar territory that they had yet to actually visit.

In one of the ship's many rooms and bedrooms, a meeting _(or perhaps more accurately; a confrontation) _was taking place, between several of the newly-minted first years and a teacher. Syrus' eyes shifted, looking from Chazz to Alexis to Atticus to doctor Crowler. Their expressions were largely the same; slightly confused.

"I'm sure you're wondering why I asked you to follow me," Vellian began. Everyone could hear the faint traces of anxiety at the edges of his voice. "The reason is this: Do any of you remember Jaden Yuki?"

Alexis shifted and tensed. Recognition flashed briefly in her eyes, and a literal flood of memories replayed in her mind but only enough for her to get the gist of them; the memories were faded as she mused in an aside that time tended to make them. "Yes, professor Crowler, of course I remember Jaden," the blonde replied, recalling fondly the all quiet moments and dark times over the three years.

Quickly, Crowler received affirmative replies from the other three. "That certainly answers that," the seasoned teacher noted softly, realizing full well how self-evident it sounded. "I had rather hoped that it all had been just a particularly vivid dream, that Jaden and that ghastly Yubel hadn't really conducted that strange ritual, but I suppose that _was _too much to hope for-"

"Jaden?!" Chazz interrupted, audibly and visibly confused. That outburst was sufficient to grant him the attention of the other four. "Way I remember, it was those other people that did..." his voice slowed, and paused entirely, as he tried to decide on a valid phrasing; seriously, he thought with frustration, after everything that had happened over the time he'd known Jaden, this was the hard-to-explain-part. "I dunno, removed Jaden and Yubel from space and time altogether, or some weird crap like that."

The raven-haired male looked around the room, taking note of their perplexed faces.

"That's not what I remember," Syrus put in. All eyes were on him as he spoke. "It was Jaden and you guys," he paused and pointed to Alexis, Chazz and Atticus, "who rewrote history somehow. While Yubel was possessing you, I mean."

"And I remember it being something that those 'Celestials' told Jaden to do; Yubel didn't really have anything to do with it."

_"How did I wind up in that movie... Rashomon, I think?" _Crowler wondered idly. "So, do we all recall it differently?"

"That's not possible," Syrus protested. "It can't have happened in more than one way, right?"

He looked to each of them, almost pleading them to vindicate him. After a few moments of speculation, Chazz spoke, "yes, it could; whatever actually did happen back then at the Abandoned Dorm, Jaden screwed around with time and space, and I _really_ don't think you're getting the whole picture there. Who's saying that it couldn't all have happened, but only in different universes?"

A downcast atmosphere descended into the room; along with that, a clear feeling in Syrus' mind, that whatever had happened back at the Abandoned Dorm was going to be just another of its mysteries.

Atticus folded his arms, looking perplexed at Chazz. "What exactly're you saying? Could ya elaborate?"

"Think it through," Chazz admonished annoyedly to the blond. "Whoever did it,_ something_ cosmic happened and screwed up the spacetime continuum- okay, I need to read more Sci-Fi... Look, the point is: How do we know that _anything_ we remember is actually true?"

The second question made considerably more of an impact in their minds than the first one, and they regarded Chazz with horror. Though they tried, none of them could string together a mental or verbal rebuttal that couldn't be boiled down to feeble denial of reality.

The world around Crowler seemed to fade away, replaced by a note of confusion and sharp disorientation and... what he could only term tentatively as 'time-paradox anxiety', an overwhelming amount of it.

"What're you saying?" Alexis questioned. "Of course everything we know is true; why wouldn't it be?"

"How would we know?" Chazz retorted with audible frustration. "We know that something happened that altered history; how do we know that what we're remembering is what happened _before_ time got rewritten and not after?"

Alexis' eyes widened in shock and disbelief; her brain had almost short-circuited in trying to process that, but it made a sickening kind of sense. The Armed Dragon Duelist laughed bitterly. "Heh, who knows? Maybe it's not just our memories, but our personalities too? Maybe everything about us got fucked up!" he spat angrily.

None of them could really fault him for the profane utterance; indeed, they were rather inclined for a foul-mouthed tirade themselves.

"Or maybe this is bigger than just us?" Chazz continued, as bitterly as before, but now also sounding distinctly in the mood for property-damage. He balled his fists. "How do we know that Yugi Muto even really exists? Or Seto Kaiba, or Joey Wheeler, or Mai Valentine? Koyo Hibiki, Howard X Miller, Mathmatica, Elroy Prescot, Aster Phoenix? How many people could just, poof, appear outta thin air because of this, and nobody being the wiser?

Alexis frowned, "Chazz, you're getting out of hand with that line of logic; yes, I agree that it makes sense, but you're going over the top," the blonde looked around the room, hoping for some small agreement.

Syrus shifted and looked down. "I dunno, what Chazz is saying sounds reasonable. Maybe, everything we know has just been created by events like this one; maybe these spacetime-warping things happen all the time, and we're just the only ones to notice. Maybe our entire world was made up just last week..."

"Well, that certainly escalated rapidly," Crowler commented facetiously, though a bit unnerved by the prospect. "I must say, Syrus, you certainly don't lack scope when you speculate; that said, could I ask you to refrain from indulging in... shall we call it _solipsism_?"

Syrus had half a mind to ask what this 'solipsism' thing was, but the other half didn't care much, for much of anything, not anymore anyway.

"And even if we were just created last week like you're suggesting, so what?" Alexis questioned. "We're real and alive, just the same."

Time passed, as quickly as unchecked, for the five after that point, as it was wont to do. That time was simply spent, debating and discussing and exchanging theories about their current situation. The hour and more was spent by them in that room, hanging out together as friends even after _(possible and suggested) _end of everything.


	2. Welcome to Duel Academy - Redux

In a certain place somewhere in the twelve dimensions, there was assembled a macabre congregation of nine beings, of such complexity that even calling them by their proper names seemed to be underestimating them severely, and that describing their shapes was almost an exercise in futility; nonetheless the attempt would be made, because explaining the unexplainable seemed a less than amusing pastime.

The first of this congregation, the one who had called for the meeting, had elected to manifest in the shape and attire she'd had before her ascension and induction into their loose group: A green-haired young girl, garbed in pink and red. Despite how brightly-lit the hall was, the girl cast no shadow, nor anything that might be considered a shadow.

The second of this congregation had likewise elected to manifest as outwardly human: A green-haired young boy, garbed in white and dark-blue. Unlike his female look-alike, he did cast a shadow; at the same time, he did not. The boy's shadow was curved too softly to be a rectangle yet was angled too sharply to be a circle. The boy was the shadow and the shadow was the boy. The boy's shadow gleamed, hued all the colors of rainbow, colors that bled into one another in ways that would make a mortal observer nauseaous with the gaudiness of it all.

That these two had opted for humanoid forms rather than the more..._ alien_ bodies than their allies was both a source of puzzlement and amusement for those of the others who cared to wonder about that.

"I am certain that you wonder why we called for this gathering," the boy addressed the others. All nine's attentions shifted to him, weighing down on him both metaphorically and literally like a physical force.

The fifth and sixth of them, in particular, wondered about why Leo was using verbal speech when telepathic exchanges would be much faster.

"The fact of the matter is that a few of Earth's people have become aware that we exist," Leo spoke gravely, seeming to expect that particular revelation to be world-shattering, or at the very least shaking. The announcement was met by general disinterest.

The sole reply it merited was a telepathic 'what of it?' from a helix of scarlet and emerald flame. "If this breach of secrecy is truly so distressing to you two, whyever would you not mend it yourselves?"

This time, it was Luna who answered, both verbally and physically: "Because we have a different solution as our intent. Our circle lacks the particular five individuals in question. As such, we would like to suggest them as prospective members of the group."

The sound with both fur and color that was the manifestation of their seventh member ceased entirely. "Are you indicating that you have found some method of broadening the scope of the Ascension process, from one being to five?" its voice inquired, sounding entirely like her former human voice.

"Not as such," Luna revealed somewhat evasively, and after a small pause. "However, we will continue investigating the possibility. With all that said, does anyone else have anything to report?"

"As a matter of fact, I do," their fourth member intoned, and conveyed a mental image to the others.

_In the forefronts of their minds formed a vivid and spectacularly-detailed image of a throne-room. Seated on the thrones were both of the Chaos sorcerers: Dark Magician of Chaos and Dark Magician Girl of Chaos. The royal couple looked-but-did-not-pay-much-attention out at their subjects._

_Genuflecting before his seeming king and queen was a Duel Monster that none recognized; his title was Evil Hero Malicious Edge all the same._

"It seems that in this universe, the Chaos Magic Empire have deployed one of their soldiers to aid the Shadow Riders in their invasion of Duel Academy. That they seek to obtain the Sacred Beast cards for themselves, is not even in question," the primordial manifestion of the numerals one-through-five stated to her associates.

The nine wordlessly took in the presented information.

"Is this one substitution in the Shadow Rider membership the extent of the changes with this universe?" Leo inquired.

"I assume so," the mutated numerals confirmed. "I have not examined these Shadow Riders, and am not planning to, but the substitution of the Evil Hero and Nightshroud seems to be everything that has changed."

"Does anyone have any other inquiries or reports to make?" Leo inquired and looked about the room. He received no reply, save for a metric crapton of ambient noise and the rainbow-colored blue-furred church-bell noise that was their seventh. "All are dismissed, then."

The ninefold abominations of nature rose from the chairs that only two of them had technically sat in. The nine moved through alien and irrational spaces, each to their own destination within the twelve dimensions.

The beings that had perhaps once been Leo and Luna emerged into Earth's dimension, in a random-ass part of the Duel Academy bound ship. Seemingly not the least bit disoriented by the trip, the greenette looked around the room they had arrived in, examining their surroundings both with her body's eyes and her mind's eye.

Her physical eyes shone white. The general vicinity - meaning only the adjacent rooms and halls - of them blurred, and the ship became a mass of transparent muted grey.

Three eyes opened on the back of Luna's head, widening her field of vision considerably. The local area was thinly populated, Luna noted: Less than five humans were nearby. To Luna's mental sight, those appeared as dimly glowing blue figures.

_"Not much,"_ came Luna's lackadaisical reply; included in that 'transmission' of stray thoughts was also some of what Luna perceived. To most outside observers, it would appear that the two preteens were spacing out for no reason at all, but such was far from the case. _"But let us make haste, Leo: We must investigate the Duel Academy of this universe."_

Out of all the passengers aboard the bath, only three possessed the psychic awareness to register the two astral-projecting Celestials; none of the 'pre-universal' quintet were not among these three. Even for the three individuals in question, the two Celestials existed, unfelt and unnoticed to their six senses.

The duo regained a semblance of attention for their current location, and wordlessly walked out of the room; their steps were quick and perfectly mirrored by the other.

Like it was the most normal thing in the world, they walked through a wall, into a hall where a newly-minted Obelisk happened to pass by. Whether he hadn't noticed the green-haired preteens who had just walked out of a wall or genuinely saw nothing strange and comment-worthy in that, would be a riddle for the ages, never to be answered by mortal or immortal man.

The Celestials and the Obelisk traipsed onwards in their own directions, for their own reasons. On their trip across the ship, the pair saw students of all builds and hair-colors and eye-colors, but none could sense their presence in turn.

The immaterial duo halted midway through a ceiling, at the sight of two individuals they identified as Bastion Misawa and Chazz Princeton; the latter of the two held the two ceiling-dwellers' interest, because whereas their mind's eyes had perceived most Duelists as dim blue figures and three of them as burgundy-hued figures, they could see that Chazz appeared also as a dark figure.

_"It seems that it is Chazz Princeton who is the reincarnation of the Supreme King, in the current universe," _Leo - or the Celestial who was outwardly identical to the Signer, at least - conveyed to the girl.

Luna was too preoccupied with ensuring that they remained unseen - undetectably to the two humans underneath them, the very universe warped around Leo and Luna, creating a both physical and metaphysical emptiness where only the ceiling existed, serene and silent and lifeless - to reply immediately.

In the warped region of spacetime that the Celestial had imposed on reality, even Gangi'El, who was a Cosmic Horror by name - which was rather a bold statement to make, given how blandly Lovecraftian it looked - might find existing a wee tad unpleasant: The laws of physics received a treatment that was comparable to, well, meat in a grinder, leaving a senseless void, because eldritch abominations from hideously alien planes of existence tended not to be agreeable to the universe in which humanity existed.

Such was a fact of whatever middle ground there existed between life and death and Duel Monsters and sartorial salad and orange and the internet: What a whimsicality that was to consider.

Wholly oblivious to the fact that they were being watched, Bastion and Chazz stared at each-other. The air was thick with tension, a sort of tension that straddled the distinct sort of tensions that, firstly, accompanied an impending make-out session, and the distinct sort of tension that, secondly, accompanied an impending exchange of hostilities. The distinction between these distinctions was disputable, dude.

"Look, is there a point to this?" the dark-haired male asked to the dark-haired male.

He raised his Duel Disk clad arm. "I challenge you to a Duel," he answered succinctly; brevity was, after all, wit, he reflected briefly.

Chazz scoffed, then slumped his shoulders, and replied, "Yeah, sure, you'll work wonders for brightening my mood: Believe me, you came along at a good time."

The mutual declaration came immediately after: "DUEL!"

The processors of the Disks whirred quietly, as the opening hands were drawn. "I'll go first," Bastion proclaimed, and draw. _"Now, Chazz Princeton, we're finally dueling, like we never could in the Junior Tournaments. I've awaited this day, for months and years! This time, you won't defeat me with your legions of Dragons!"_ I play a monster, the likes of which you've never seen before: Fundamental Force - Gravity!"

In a single cool-handed motion, Bastion placed the monster card on his Duel Disk, and the GPU of the Disk gave a brief-lived hum. On the Duel Field, nothing appeared, and nothing seemed about to. Except, that was, for the standard visual that indicated Attack and Defense Point values. [0/0]

"What gives?" Chazz's eyes scanned furtively the hallway for signs of anything abnormal. "Where's your Gravity card?"

"It's quite simple," Bastion chided. "You see, Gravity is a fundamental force of the universe and exists all around us. It isn't something that has a physical form, at least not one that we humans can see. Does that answer your question, Mister Princeton?"

Chazz smirked, but Bastion wasn't much fazed by that gesture; one might say that he ought to be. "Oh trust me, it does. I know its type: It's all tricks and no battle strength. Why don't I show you just _why_ that alone don't cut it in Duels?"

"You're certainly welcome to try," Bastion rebutted. He slid a pair of cards in his Spell/Trap zones. "I place two cards face-down and end my turn."

Chazz drew and smirked, then slid a single card into one of his own Spell/Trap zones. "Let's get this over with: I activate Polymerization, combining the Green and Yellow Ojama!"

The tell-tale violet spiral formed, and his two monster spirits appeared in holographic form. They went eagerly to their fates, being quickly swallowed up by the Fusion vortex.

From within emerged one of the trio's combined forms: A creature that possessed Ojama Yellow's eyestalks, sticking out from within its hood. The brown robes it wore obscured everything but the eyestalks from sight. [0/2500]

"Have fun getting over his 2500 Defense Points," Chazz barked - not literally, mind you - to Bastion. "But before I forget, your Gravity's not the only one with a trick up its sleeve: By getting rid of one of my Ojamas," he paused to slide Ojama Black into his graveyard, "I get to add any card I want from my Deck to my hand! Scared yet? This is what you're up against, when you're Dueling The Chazz!"

Bastion was speechless, mainly due to the fact that Chazz now used radically different cards than what he recalled. _"Why on earth would he decide to use the Ojama series? Certainly, they have powerful support cards, but compared to Light and Darkness Dragon, Burning Dragon or the Armed Dragon Level monsters, they just don't merit being included-" _

Bastion's train of thought was interrupted by Chazz's declaration: "So, give it up for Armed Dragon Level 5!" he held out the declared card forcefully and dramatically, with great gravitas. "And as an added bonus, we both get to draw a card, free of charge; no need to thank me."

In almost perfect synch, Chazz and Bastion drew. Both examined briefly their draws - Pot of Greed for him, Natural Selection for him - and placed the cards in their respective hands.

"Next up: I activate Pot of Greed, netting me another two cards," Chazz explained redundantly.

"I know the effect of Pot of Greed," Bastion admonished, feeling both amused and insulted that Chazz had bothered to explain the actual factual effect of Pot of Greed; _Pot of Greed, _of all things.

"Well, good for you," he retorted sheepishly as he claimed his cards. "Next, I sacrifice my Ojama Sorcerer, to summon Armed Dragon Level 5!"

Ojama Sorcerer's hologram compiled into a cloud of golden pixels. In its place arose the teen form of the red-and-black dragon who had a visible fondness for drilling implements and other sharp tools; it was merely a shame that it was... not the sharpest tool in the shed!. [2400/1700]

"Next, I use my Armed Dragon's special ability: By sending my V-Tiger Jet from my hand to the graveyard, I can destroy a monster with less Attack Points, your Fundamental Force or whatever gets destroyed."

Bastion blinked, then once again, and a third time for good measure. _"Now he's using a Union Machine monster? First it was the Ojamas, then an Armed Dragon, now a Machine-type? Just what sort of Deck is he using: Has he really combined all three decks into one? It seems unlikely, but it's the only explanation I can think of-"_

Again, Chazz's announcements interrupted his thought train. "But the fun doesn't end here; I activate Level Up! With this card, my Armed Dragon grows from Level 5 to Level 7! Here it comes, straight from my Deck!""

The teenage dragon became encased in liquid golden light, and cried out, in pain and relief and bloodlust. The glowing faded away, revealing the full-grown dragon, which roared Bastion in the face, then returned to its master's side. [2800/1000]

"Fascinating creature," Bastion complimented, considerably less affected than one might reasonably expect from someone who had just been roared at by a behemoth of a dragon. "But your Dragon won't be around for much longer! I activate Ring of Destruction, subduing the beast and doling out 2800 points of damage to us both."

The Armed Dragon growled at the explosive-lined ring that had decided to become a collar on its neck. Both ring and dragon exploded unceremoniously. [Bastion: 1200] [Chazz: 1200]

"I'll simply put one card face-down," Chazz grumbled, scowling.

Bastion drew, and sighed inwardly._ "I would be a cavalier fool to launch an attack while Mister Princeton has a face-down card waiting, but if I hesitate, he could mount a comeback, and if I make a thoughtless move, I'll lose..._ ... I normal summon my Oxygeddon, in Defense Mode!"

In a dramatic flourish, such as Duelists were common to perform, the card was placed atop his Disk. Holographic trails of green winds and vapors swept around the hall, and at the center of the storm, there was the beast responsible, bowing before the Duelists. [1800/800]

"I end my turn," Bastion declared, sounding reluctant to the girl who was sticking out of the ceiling.

_"So he's stalling," _Chazz noted. _"Suits me just fine; I'll hate to end my first duel of the year with a draw._ I draw!" he proclaimed; his eyes widened incrementally at the sight of the drawn card: Chthonian Soldier. A sensation akin to nostalgia formed on his countenance and in his mind.

_"Heh, I remember this card; or I hope so... my first Duel with Jaden... maybe my memories aren't real, but this card definitely is!_ I summon Chthonian Soldier, in Attack Mode!"

Quickly, the stocked soldier emerged into physical reality, brandishing a silvery blade and plated in metallic armor. This armor did not cover his arms nor a section of his midriff, making it less than practical for combat situations.

"Now, Chthonian Soldier, give that dragon a taste of your steel: Windstorm Slash," Chazz commanded. The infernal warrior quite literally lept at the windy dragon, carving it in two. As most destroyed monsters did, it exploded into a cloud of smoke for no discernable reason. Pointed observations about the oddities of Duel Monsters aside- actually, no.

Bastion didn't react to the destruction of his monster, but simply took it and slid the card into his Graveyard.

"I'll just call it a turn; give me what passes for your best, Bastion," Chazz commented.

Ignoring the jab at his skills, Bastion conducted his draw. A smirk tugged at his lips at the sight. "I activate Graceful Charity, to bolster my hand! It allows me to draw three cards, and requires me to give up two of them," the male explained and was not slow to fulfill its demand, sliding the three cards together into his graveyard.

"Now, I activate Mystical Space Typhoon, allowing me to destroy any Spell or Trap that is currently in play, and the one I choose is-" Bastion began but was interrupted by Chazz.

"My own Ring of Destruction, which destroys my Chthonian Soldier, taking our remaining Life Points," Chazz completed as the card in question popped up into action. From the image flew the ring that attached itself to the Chtonian Soldier's neck.

The ring and the monster exploded together, bringing the Duel to its conclusion with an audible beep. [Chazz: 0] [Bastion: 0]

"A draw," Chazz scoffed, somewhere between amused and annoyed. "We'll need a rematch later, Bastion," he said and turned, walking away.

He had yet to leave the hallways, before Bastion addressed him, "by the way, Mister Princeton, if you don't mind my asking: During this duel, you consistently addressed me by my first name, as if you somehow knew me. Could you explain that?"

Chazz mulled it over, without turning to face Bastion. After a few seconds, he left a 'no reason, I guess. See ya around' as a parting remark for Bastion.

_"Does he remember me from the Junior Tournaments?" _Bastion wondered briefly, before writing it off as a daily oddity.

Just then, the speaker system blared through every nook and cranny of the ferry, dispelling totally the ambient noise, and a husky contralto spoke: "Attention all students, we'll be arriving at Duel Academy within a few minutes."

A few minutes later, the students had disembarked from the ship. For most of them, the sensation of being present at the illustrious school was one of awe, one that was born of multiple factors.

One of these was the truly immense building that loomed over them; for some, the thought of attending the classes there weighed down like a physical force. One of these factors was that there was an active volcano, almost threatening to erupt at any moment.

More than a few student wondered whether they would have to Duel within the crater, and fretted falling into the lava; these particular students were 'assuaged' by being informed that the mere process of convection would reduce them to smoldering corpses without even being close to the lava. What did genuinely manage to assuage them was Professor Hibiki's assurance that they wouldn't even approach the volcano.

For a select few, the first impression differed in that it wasn't really the first. For Syrus in particular, being at Duel Academy Island was accompanied with a pleasant kind of unease.

_"Well, Duel Academy,"_ the bespectacled Duelist thought to himself as he walked in a drove with the other new students towards the main building. _"Here we go again."_


	3. Making the Grade - Redux

**I can't for the life of me figure out what to put in Author's notes... that being said, I'll be immensely grateful if anyone bothering to read this would leave a review. ****Pardon me for saying so, but iloveyugiohgx93 isn't exactly known for handing out constructive criticism for a regular basis.**

* * *

><p>Sometime, the next day, the 'pre-universal quintet' were assembled in Crowler's office, an occurrence that the effeminate teacher noted to start to become a habit.<p>

"The gang's all here, Syrus," Chazz grumbled to the short-statured teen from his corner of the room, "so why don't you hurry up and spill the beans?"

"Well..." Syrus began, but paused to glance around the room. Collectively, the other four were staring at him with undisguised curiousity. "Basically, I wanted to talk about something we didn't yesterday: How're we going to deal with the Shadow Riders this time around?"

Crowler raised an eye-brow, "could you elaborate a bit?"

"Well, I mean, when, or if, I guess, Chancellor Sheppard gives us the Spirit Keys, should we just expose professor Banner as a Shadow Rider right away? We could save ourselves some trouble if we did."

With the question, a dense silence descended over the office. Crowler leaned back in his chair, with a contemplative countenance. Finally, he replied, "it is certainly not a bad idea; however, I've read sufficient sci-fi to know that actually exploiting foreknowledge has the darndest tendency to alter the course of the future-"

"It didn't for Sartorius," Chazz interjected. He, as well as the other four, remained wholly oblivious to the fact that the two Celestials were watching them from within the wall behind Vellian, studying every motion and every act the five carried out, monitoring them every moment of the day. In essence, they were being stalked by Lovecraftian horrors from the tenebrous underside of the universe; a disheartening thought in every sense conceivable.

Just then, there was a sharp tap on the door, breaking the concentration of both human and non-human alike.

"You may enter," Crowler calmly called out to his visitor. The door opened softly. In the doorway, the seven saw a dark-haired bespectacled male, garbed in the Obelisk Blue uniform.

The man surveyed the room briefly, mildly surprised at the sight of a Slifer among the Obelisks.

"Ah, Mister Ryuga," Crowler greeted. His hand reached for one of the drawers, and opened it to take out a few choice documents. "I presume that you're here for your fiftieth Duel? If I might be permitted to veer off on a tangent, I would like to compliment you on your astounding prowess."

The aspiring-to-be-a-teacher replied with a courteous bow, "I thank you humbly, Doctor Crowler, but might I be permitted to ask why there is a Slifer along with three Obelisks occupying space in your office?"

Ryuga noted a faint twinge on the faces of Mister Princeton, Mister Rhodes and Doctor Crowler; it was sufficient to arouse his curiousity.

"We simply had some personal business to discuss," Crowler replied dismissively. "I believe that my students and I would prefer being discrete about the matter."

Ryuga was not entirely convinced; what sort of 'personal business' could there be between Doctor Crowler, Princeton, Truesdale, Rhodes and Rhodes?

"But regardless, there was the matter of your fifthieth Duel to attend to, correct?" Crowler reminded. Ryuga recognized a diversion when he saw it, but decided to not call it to attention. "As it happens, we have the perfect student for you to face," he paused. "Alexis, Chazz, Atticus, Syrus," he called their names in turn. "Would one of you care to face Mister Ryuga?"

The foursome glanced briefly at one another, several times over, like they were wordlessly debating who would be Dueling; with faint nervousness, they fidgeted to varying degrees. Moments passed, filled with deafening ambient noise.

A brief while later, the Duel had commenced. Snow Fairy raised its ice-coated hand, and in front of Ryuga, four large holographic cards appeared, ghost-like. The second card from the left turned around, revealing it to be Ultra Evolution Pill. As per the effect of Icicle Cannon, the Spell was assigned Attack and Defense Points. [0/0]

From Snow Fairy's hand, several shards of ice shot forth, skewering the Spell. Its hologram dissolved, and Ryuga slid the card into his Graveyard.

_"Remarkable," _Ryuga considered briefly. _"Not only does Icicle Cannon strengthen her monster, but it also bolsters its offensive capabilities, and with Snow Fairy's own ability to restrict my usage of Spells, this two-card combo is almost untouchable... just what I would expect from an Obelisk Blue student."_

The spectators' enjoyment of the Duel was halted when they heard blunt footsteps come from behind them. Crowler and the other three spun to see a woman march towards them. Behind her, Vellian noted about a dozen or so students. Briefly, he looked her over: She could easily be described as beauteous, and was garbed in the Slifer Red uniform. To an outside observer, it would be reasonable to assume that the woman was Chazz's older sister; the Department Chair noted a distinct resemblance.

"Halt this Duel immediately!" the raven-haired woman demanded, audibly and visibly infuriated for reasons that eluded Vellian. Her voice echoed through the entirety of the hall. In the Duel Arena, the man whose first name would be a mystery to never be answered cursed under his breath.

"What in blazes is going on, Miss?" Crowler addressed her. The woman faced him, visibly displeased.

"Crowler, we have been provided irrefutable proof that Ryuga's been stealing cards from those forty-nine he defeated," Midori informed Vellian.

The doctorate-holder was shocked, to say the least, as were the others. "Is this true?" the male teacher inquired, shaken, to the Slifers and Ras that had served as Midori's entourage.

"He stole my Blizzard Dragons," a green-haired female Slifer began. "I've had them for months!"

"And mah Elemental HERO Landstorm; Claymans and Avians, ta boot," a red-head male Ra added, his voice marked by a clear accent that Crowler couldn't quite place.

"My Sorcerer of Illusions," a maroon-haired male Slifer continued the listing of thefts, which had apparently become a thing. "And also my Spellbinding Illusion."

The victims continued to list what Ryuga had stolen, and the situation became increasingly clear to the male member of the school faculty. The duel was quickly called off, and a few days passed._  
><em>

Ryuga's ultimate fate quickly became a mystery; officially, he was quietly returned home, but the rumor mill would not be deterred by some insignificancies as proven fact and objective statement.

Some of the robbed Ras were of the belief that Ryuga had been sent off the island on a skiff, without food or drink, to die at sea. These were, evidently, the ones who were the most sore about having their valued cards stolen in the first place.

Some of the robbed Slifers believed that Ryuga had been subjected to an island-wide chase, and had sought refuge in the abandoned dorm, where he'd had his soul devoured by the mythical Shadow Realm. Those who subscribed to this theory were, evidently, also annoyed about his actions.

A few mixed Slifers and Ras subscribed to the theory that he had been fed, mind and body and soul, to the super-ancient terrible beast that roamed the academy as it pleased, and filled the hearts of men with dread and despair, the beast that was only known as Pharaoh. These eight students were considered crack-pots, due to how docile the feline generally was.

About one or two uneventful weeks of classes later, Ryuga was all but forgotten, even by the small fraction of the student body who he'd personally wronged. Life went on; such was self-evident.

.

"Alright, class, let's continue," Midori's voice carried clearly through the class-room. "Who can list five top-level Spellcasters, 'top-level' defined as above Level seven, _other_ than one of the Dark Magicians?" she emphasized the last bit.

Across the rows of desks, the query elicited a low-key buzz of activity: Midori noted the physical rise of a few students, one Slifer, two Ras and an Obelisk. "Yes, Mister Vandom?" she inquired of the blond Slifer.

"Cosmo Queen, Endymion the Master Magician, Nature Sorceress, Envoy of the Light, Illusion Archmage," the second year listed calmly; his voice oozed such smugness that it almost threatened to coalesce into a pyramid-shaped wooden mass of smugness, which would then be subject to gravity, fall to the ground and splinter into dozens of fragments of manifest cockiness.

He ignored the glares and stares he received from his classmates.

"Thank you, Mister Vandom," the raven-haired woman nodded politely. The classroom fell silent, and the risen students seated themselves. "Now, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Spellcasters are perhaps the monster-type that boasts the greatest amount of versatility amongst them all: There are Spellcasters and Spellcaster-related cards for virtually any purpose. Now, could I ask three of you to come down and complete a Test Duel?"

Jasmine rose from her seat, as did nobody else. A scant moment later, a couple of other students were given incentive to join in, due in large part to a stern look from Midori. The three students walked together towards the Duel Puzzle room. One was Jasmine, one was Syrus and one was a random-ass Obelisk Blue named Jake.

"The Test will be set to Level 2 Grade 3," Midori informed them matter-of-factly, and fiddled with the system to make it so. The students continued, entering the Test Duel room, of featureless ebon and dim light.

Behind them, the door closed audibly. The classroom screen flickered to life, depicting the insides of the exam room. Before the three of them, the Test Duel's field materialized.

Its only on-field card was the Chaos Command Magician - [2400/1900] - but the mage was backed by five large cards, each designed as the backing of a card. Its Life Points were likewise presented for their benefit. [SYSTEM: 12000]

With less than perfect synchrony, the three of them drew five cards each. [Jasmine/Syrus/Jake: 4000]

"Don't slow us down, Slifer," Jake grumbled to the red-garbed student. Syrus ignored the comment. "Seriously; don't clog up our field, don't waste our Life Points, don't make thoughtless moves."

Syrus glared at him. "Just worry about yourself; I'll be fine."

"Heh," Jake scoffed. "We'll see soon enough,", he shot back. Then he inspected his hand. "Let's kick this off: I activate Polymerization, and with that, I can fuse my two Elemental HEROes, Burstinatrix and Wildheart, letting me summon Elemental HERO Wild Bonfirer!"

As the three cards were placed into and then onto the blond's Disk, the fusion spiral materialized the dark-hued room. Syrus watched in disbelief as the two HEROes were swallowed up by the swirling energy.

They emerged onto the field as a single fighter: The monster had Wildheart's skintone and musculature. He was shirtless and Burstinatrix's attire had been changed to serve as a pair of bright-red skintight pants that accentuated his shapely buttocks. On his chest were flamelike markings, hued a subdued red. [1900/2300]

"He uses Elemental HEROes too?" Syrus questioned, unable to stop himself from phrasing it aloud. "And here I thought that Jaden was the only one..."_  
><em>

Being as Jake was within the same room, he was naturally within earshot. "Heh, you can tell this Jaden-fella, whoever he is, that he doesn't have the exclusive rights to the Elemental HERO Deck."

Syrus didn't reply, instead turning his attention back to the Duel.

"Now for my next trick," Jake paused to slide a card into his Disk. Wild Bonfirer barely seemed to react as his arm began to become transmogrified by the Spell. Throbbing veins formed on the fused HERO's forearm; the flesh gained a ruddy hue. The sickness spred down his arm, but still the HERO did not react to it. Soon, there was a bulbous lump of veiny flesh where his hand had been, with only the blade of an axe to serve as an appendage of any sort. [2900/2300]

"Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, my Axe of Despair card," he announced melodramatically. "And it doesn't stop there: See, while Wild Bonfirer's on the field, the opponent takes 600 points of damage for each of their cards that goes to the Graveyard, like the computer's Chaos Command."

Syrus and Jasmine both shot Jake a quizzical look, as did most of the students outside of the room. Jake beamed back at the two. "Nope," Syrus denied. "Not falling for it."

"Whatever, shortstuff," Jake smirked. "Wild Bonfirer, take out that Magician with... Wildfire Hurricane!"

On command, the Elemental HERO swung his bladed arm forcefully. The gesture cast streaks and slivers of flame into Chaos Command's general direction. Consumed by the raging conflagration, the Chaos Command Magician exploded into a cloud of smoke, rather than, you know, getting burnt alive as logic dictated he ought to. [SYSTEM: 11500]

The HERO was about to let loose another burst of flame, before realizing that there wasn't a target for him to strike, and sheepishly shrugged his burly shoulders in defeat, to his invoker.

The system received the damage regardless, as the tell-tale noise made evident. The soft golden Life Point meter appeared briefly. [SYSTEM: 10900]

The cloud died down, all but forgotten. Jake proclaimed faux-coolly the end of his turn. On the far of the room, above the five cards of the system's hand, there appeared now the expected three additional cards.

Two of the cards flipped around of their own volition, revealing them both to be Double Summon. The jet-Black floor shone a vivid gold as Breaker the Magical Warrior appeared on the field, his posture firm and battleready. [1600/1000]

Unceremoniously, the mage-knight lowered his blade. Briefly, blue electricity crackled around it, and a bolt of lightning shot forth. Its path was not a direct one; quite the contrary, the supernatural current branched out among several paths, including one that was actually conducive to its objective.

Along with the classroom, another individual watched the unfolding duel with a vested interest, in large part due to Syrus' participation but not at all due to Jasmine's or Jake's. This individual was Leo, and as for his current vantage point, well, there weren't quite words for it other than 'puzzling': In the simplest possible terms, the so-called 'Celestial' was occupying the 'space' inside of Midori Hibiki's name. It was not a metaphor for anything, but literally where he physically was to be found.

It made virtually no sense in any sense, but such was the nature of a rugose, eldritch, anachronistic, insert-a-dozen-suitable-adjectives-here Lovecraftian monstrosity, even one that tucked itself safely inside a human body.

From his nebulously-established hideout, the entity extended thoughts to his other bodies.

One of these bodies were with Professor Banner and dozens of students in Duel Monsters History class. One of these bodies were with Atticus Rhodes and various others in Dragons class. One of these bodies were in the bleedin' loo with Chazz Princeton. Where Luna was during these events was seemingly not to be answered.

Leo gazed through his multiple pairs of eyes, within a few names, across the classrooms and bleedin' loo. _"How best to go about it?"_ the Lovecraftian pseudo-human reflected to himself. His thought processes were not wholly alien and incomprehensible to humanity - indeed, the statement had failed to include the image of a frog - so evidently he was doing a shoddy job of being a Lovecraftian horror.

Oblivious to the weird-ass narration, even though he should be, Leo continued to ponder. _"If I were to impose a mental command upon the humans, they would most likely notice a discrepancy on their time-measuring devices, which could alert the five to my presence... what to do, what to do..."_

What Leo had forgotten however, was to adjust his own mental processing speed to one that would be beneficial to him: Whereas a human being would scarcely need seconds to complete those thoughts, he had in fact spent over an hour doing so.

Suddenly, he realized the issue and corrected it: The world outside of Midori's name began to move, or at least, it didn't stand perfectly still. He was treated to a leisurely stroll through the academy, shackled to Midori through tethers of pure idea.

Quickly, he noted his other bodies' new locations: One was with Banner's name, one was with Atticus' name, one was in Midori's name, one was still in the bleedin' loo. The first location was not at all of use, he decided, but the last location might serve to amuse.

Across the academy, in a few locations which outwardly held no significance, identical instances of weird-ass crap now occurred, instigated by Leo's power.

In Doctor Crowler's office, the wall which wasn't designed or intended in any way whatsoever to open up, opened up to reveal a stairway. Just as Led Zeppelin had once sung of a stairway that led to God, this was a stairway that led to God knows where.

As had already been stated unambiguously, the same things occurred in the sleeping quarters of Syrus, somewhere in the Slifer Red dormitory, Alexis, Atticus and Chazz, somewheres in the Obelisk Blue dormitory, and, quite self-evidently, in the bleedin' loo, somewhere in the main building.

Guided by forces that were as powerful as they were subdued, the five put whatever matters were currently occupying them in order, grabbed their Decks, and walked into the staircase. It did not matter how long they walked the stairway; in this particular section of space, the entrance was the exit and the exit was the entrance and there was no escape.

Then, suddenly, after a span of time that could equally have been minutes or months, a blinding green light erupted from right out of nowhere. The quintet did not react in any way to it, but they nonetheless awoke to unfamiliar surroundings.

More than almost improbably gasping in unison, the first thing they saw was a boy with turquoise hair and dressed lightly in white garments.

As Alexis and Crowler both surveyed their environs - a table and seats, in the desert world that they both recalled that Yubel had transported them to - The Chazz had raised himself from his seat, and was glaring at the boy. "Okay, kid, you better start talking: Who are you and what's going on here?!"

The other four likewise turned to the boy. As far as they could tell, he did not react to The Chazz's outburst nor to anything else. In fact, Crowler noted that the child was just sitting deathly still: No fidgeting, no blinking, no signs of life of any kind. _"My, I'd never imagined I would see anyone who deliberately was going for the Uncanny Valley effect..."_

Moments passed before The Chazz received a reply. "Allow me to be direct: Among other reasons, I and my associates hold a vested interest in the five of you and your personal Decks; as such, I would like to make a contribution."

From... Crowler blinked in surprise as several stacks of cards seemingly came out of the boy's shirt, floating for no apparent reason - he inferred that the boy was somehow telekinetic; he'd heard rumors of people with psychic powers - towards them. The stacks were lowered, slowly and measuredly, down in front of the humans.

The blonde went briefly through the cards, halting at an unfamiliar one. "Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier?" she asked, eyeing the boy. _"_Look, I appreciate the gift, but I'm not ever going ever to use one of those made-up cards that's a-dime-a-dozen online," she declared, and handed him back the offending-to-her-sensibilities Synchro.

Immediately after, Chazz did the same, only with a pair of cards that Leo noted as Dark End Dragon and Light End Dragon. In turn, Alexis did the same with what he saw was Brionac, Gungnir and Frozen Fitzgerald.

"I would advise you all to keep the Synchro monsters," Leo eyed the five neutrally, somehow managing to eye five individuals with only two eyeballs. "I can personally assure you of their legitimacy."

Alexis and Chazz simply continued to hold the cards in question.

"And that's really good and all," Chazz riposted. "But we're still not interested in your pathetic fakes. The Chazz only Duels with _real _cards, from Industrial Illusions."

Leo's expression remained unwaveringly unemotive. Evidently, he mused, they would need some... gentle persuasion to agree to this. "Allow me to rephrase my statement: You _will _be including the cards I have just given you in your Decks, and I will deign to answer a single question from each of you. Will you accept this bargain?"

Shock flickered abrubtly across their faces at the realization of _what_ exactly this kid was: Mutually contradictory through their memories of before the current universe were, they all recalled him and his race being present when it happened.

"You're a Celestial," Syrus murmured. In the distance, a gust of wind caused a cloud of dust to kick up, but it went unnoticed by the six.

Leo's countenance remained dispassionately. "Yes, I believe that you named our race thus. That aside, will you accept my offer or not?"

Syrus glanced briefly at the stack; he knew it contained many powerful cards, but they were more likely than not fakes, the kind that Alexis had said were a-dime-a-dozen on the Internet. "I'll keep these for now," the bluenet finally uttered, ignoring the looks he received for it. "But if I find out that these aren't really in the Duel Monsters card pool, you're getting them right back."

Alexis' reply was quite different: "No; I don't know why you're so keen on us having these cards, but nobody but me decides what goes into my Deck, and these fake cards aren't going anywhere near-"

Leo interjected offhandedly, "Alexis Rhodes, I will simply say that I have methods of making you... shall we say, more _flexible_ on this subject, so you might prefer accepting them voluntarily. That applies to your friends as well."

"Oh, so now you're making us an 'offer we can't refuse'?" the blonde eyed the boy darkly, visibly tensing. "Let me spell it out for you: Don't try to change my mind, don't try to change my Deck."

Leo sighed in a distinctly amused manner. Alexis was less than amused, not that any of them were happy with him attempting to screw around with their Decks. "'Change' you, Alexis Rhodes? Is that what you believe of us? That we are the Changers, presenting you with the sole options of Change or Die?"

That question was accompanied by a telepathic emission, infusing their minds with newfound serenity; in other words, they were put on a heavy dose of psychic sedative, administered by a crazy person.

"But I believe that we should approach this matter from a different angle," Leo continued as though nothing was the matter.

For what seemed like the first time in Crowler's eyes, the boy moved, extending his left arm. In the air between where he sat and where they sat, specks of blue fire and azure light erupted; unfelt to the five, normal spacetime was chased away by the manifestation. These swirled unpredictably around, and within, there seemed to form an image.

Within, they saw a number of people. One was a dark-haired male in a blue leather-jacket. One was a tall blond in a faded-white attire. One was a burgundy-haired woman in an ornate red dress. Two of them were kids, about ten or twelve, and siblings by the looks of it; the boy of that pair was the same one who was showing them this image, they saw.

Above all five of them, the seated five saw further, several rings of light. From within each tunnel of rings, beams of light, of varying colors, shot out, as did dragonic creatures of varying shapes.

Leo waved his hand, and the image became too faded to make out any its details. Less than a second later, even the last vestiges of it had faded into nothingness. "This is the future of your world; a time where Synchro monsters are in common use. I have deigned to grant you five access to Dueling techniques that would normally take several years to become available. At virtually no cost, I might add."

"Take a hint!" Alexis snapped. "Whether the cards are fake or real, I don't _want _what you're trying to push on us."

Leo performed a generic facepalm gesture, then opened one eye with such force that it verged on physical. "Humans, as amusing as I find your obstinacy-"

Alexis cut him off, "yeah, we kinda get annoyed when _other _people mess with _our _Decks."_  
><em>

"-I believe that I ought to phrase our intentions for you in a different manner: You will be keeping the cards I have given to you, and in exchange, I will answer each of you any single question you might have about this matter. Is that compromise palatable to you?"

The preuniversal quintet glanced at one another wordlessly, exchanging a look whose sentiment carried imperfectly, but well enough.

"Very well, I will accept your little compromise, but I can't speak for my students," Vellian spoke, with as much authority and dignity and bluster as he could manage; it was more than one would expect, given that he was currently on sufficient telepathic sedative to put down a Blue Eyes Shining Dragon. It was really a d'ast miracle that he was still coherent. "Now, what has driven you to this madness; do you somehow think that we appreciate being dragged around like puppets on a string? Do ascribe us _s__ome _dignity."

Leo gave no reaction. "Very well. One of the reasons for this is that within the five of you now dwells a shared power; due to this factor, we arrived at the conclusion that your personal Decks gaining the capacity to Synchro Summon would be conducive to your growth once this power surfaced."

Alexis had the good grace to look puzzled. So did Atticus and Chazz, for that matter. Crowler was rather more intrigued that someone could be both so vague and so precise in their speech. Syrus eyed the turquoise-haired boy with suspicion; just what 'power' was that? It seemed that every answer they got only created more questions.

Leo gave them a mild pause to let the statement sink in. To his irritation, the desert sunlight shone directly into his eyes.

Before anyone else, Alexis spoke: "So, what you're saying is... that you're trying to force us to use these 'Synchro' monsters to help us?"

"Precisely," Leo replied faux-eloquently. "And merely to elaborate, I am not _asking _you to actually use them for every Duel; when you elect to summon them is entirely something of your own volitions. I simply ask that my generosity is not snubbed."

Their irritation toward the boy lifted, moderately; that wasn't entirely comfortable a sensation, if he really was telepathic as the bespectacled teen suspected. Still, his own unspoken sentiment carried clearly: He would not take no for an answer.

"Heh," The Chazz gave a smirk, and uttered a complete 180 of his previous stance on the matter. "If these things are on the level, I'll gladly take them off your hands. _I know Burning Dragon's legit..._"

Leo did not answer; at least not in spoken words. Instead, he raised his hand. For the five, their surroundings changed almost-but-not-quite nauseatingly fast: From a desert and sand and a conference table, to indoor areas; bedrooms and an office.

Despite what Leo had intended, they did not set about their assigned/requested task immediately. Instead, what some did - if 'some' was even a worthwhile term on such a small scale - was navel-gazing about their 'gift cards', about whether their use was even ethical.

_"On one hand, they're gonna be real in the future, or that's what he wants us to think,"_ Alexis contemplated while holding the Gungnir card in two dainty fingers. _"On the other hand, it shouldn't even exist in this day and age, **even **if it is a legitimate card... not like it matters; he didn't say anything about how to Summon these things."_

She shifted her gaze to the cards scattered to the winds on the desk, and leaned forward. The chair moved with her, self-evidently. She began to speculate - _"Maybe one Blizzard Dragon is enough" - _about ideas for this 'next iteration' of her Deck, once more.

From within the walls of the various rooms, Luna watched, as Leo previously had, over the quintet, through multiple faux-human bodies. Partly she felt whimsically thirsty, partly she felt giddy, partly she felt Leo's presence in her mind and body, filling every gap and covering for every shortcoming. Now there was a non sequitur.

But anyway, back to the humans. The revisioning of Alexis' Deck had visibly not progressed far; only three monsters had been included in it so far. In her sleeping quarters reigned only ambient silence; the multidimensional blasphemy of 'Celestial' presence was beyond human ability to sense. The teen eyed the piles of Duel Monsters cards, mostly lost in her own thoughts.

Specifically, it was two cards which her mind was focused on: _"If I put Ice Master and Blizzard Princess in, that'll yield enough attack power to handle anything short of a Gate Guardian, but on the other hand... worst-case scenario, I'll have to sacrifice ten monsters out of about fifteen... it's workable, but it could backfire... ... ..." _her train of thought continued apace. A faded breath later, she placed the Spellcaster pair with the White Night trio; what her decision had been was self-evident.

A few shuffles of her monster card stack later, six more candidates for the next iteration were fished out. Through her biological brain of neurons and synapses coursed, well, electrical currents that were translated into coherent thoughts concerning potential strategies and combos involving the Knights of Ice and Fairies of Cold.

The twin Celestials watched, munching on conjured popcorn like they were on a date in a cinema because such had apparently amused them to do; they were abominations of nature, which somehow translated to them enjoying popcorn. Perhaps, they ought to be told that while Lovecraftian Horrors such as them inherently defied all forms of rationality and logic, this sort of thing was not quite what was meant by that core concept.

Their actions amounted only to active brainwashing, to achieve their desired end results of these Deck revisionings and to see that their gifts were added in, regardless of what the group might feel about it; indeed, they were aware of including their bestowed cards in only the vaguest senses... perhaps, there should not be an 'only' in the previous line of narration; it was really rather a grievous transgression, to violate people's free will in such a manner.

But as the esteemed Sir Lovecraft had argued at length in his literary works, human concerns and interests were irrelevant to the universe in its entirety, and humans fundamental powerless against the hordes of eldritch abominations from both within and from beyond this universe. He was somewhat a depressing fellow, but fascinating to converse with, indisputably.

In the depths beneath the Academy, a psychic whose power was beyond his own control was doing nothing much, except for a passable imitation of a stoner; this performance was not quite award-winning. He was currently giving a lengthy and eloquent lecture regarding a diverse number of sociopolitical dilemmas in rusty Kuribohese to no-one but himself, for he was completely alone in his cage. Upon seeing him, it might be hard to believe that he was currently occupying Zane's role as the top student at the Academy, but it was true nonetheless... somehow.

Suddenly, she came to a realization, and broke into a run; about ten-thirteen minutes later, she halted on the trail to the main building. Within the woods, she spotted someone who she could only describe as Tarzan, in that he was shirtless, tan-skinned and well-muscled.

The shirtless male eyed the clothed female with wariness. The clothed female stared back, dumbfounded. Ambient noise filled the silence. Neither blinked, even in the slightest. The stranger retreated, leaving a Tarzanesque hollering as a parting remark. "Wauw," the clothed female spoke aloud, to no-one, "that was kinda weird... still, never a dull moment at Duel Academy."

She continued to run, the odd encounter all but forgotten. Ten minutes later, she arrived at the field tests, late as all get-out. Exactly ten seats and three rows away, Professor Stein noted the arrival of the female Obelisk, and rose to greet her. Alexis turned at the sound of footsteps.

"Miss Rhodes, I can't help but notice that you've arrived late," the history teacher's dullard voice contained a note of disappointment. Briefly he recalled that a few of her friends - Syrus Truesdale, her brother, Chazz Princeton, James Harrison - were likewise late.

"I know, and I'm sorry," the blonde replied hastily and sheepishly. "I tried to get here earlier, but I was revising my Deck and lost track of time."

Professor Stein eyed her, somehow lifelessly. "Well, it isn't an issue; now, I believe that Mister Harrison currently lacks an opponent. Perhaps you could Duel him?" he suggested. The blonde accepted, and quickly made her way to the specified Duel Field.

"You're... Atticus Rhodes, right?" the raven-haired Obelisk inquired, hesitantly, scratching the back of his head. Alexis gave a taken-aback sort of look in return; inwardly she wondered if he was joking.

"No," the blonde corrected him, "I'm _Alexis_ Rhodes; but if you don't mind, could we dispense with the formalities and get on with the Duel?"

"Sure, uhhh... _Miss! _Miss, I know that term," the teen whose last name apparently was Harrison assured her hastily, giving a beaming smile as well. The Duel was begun by what else but a draw of five cards per person.

"My move, I draw," Alexis proclaimed, and performed the proclaimed action. "You'll want to listen up, because this is about to get intense; first I'll summon my Ice Knight to the field!"

A figure coated in a layer of golden light appeared. The light cooled - pun absolutely intended - into a humanoid creature. Its armor of ice and crystal was hued blue and purple and green. In its hand, it brandished a lance colored slate grey; for some reason, the simplistic lance was adorned with emerald, the sort one might expect from a mage's staff, if he or she had been so gaudily-inclined. [1300/1200]

"Nice, an ice Deck," Mister Harrison commented. "I always liked White Night Queen's effect, it's neat. Speaking 'a which, could we get through this _without _any ice puns? They really aren't cool, see what I mean?"

"I... I wasn't actually going to make any, so, sure," the blonde replied with an amused smile. Ice Knight's Attack Points promptly rose for no observable reason. [1700/1200]

If Mister Harrison was surprised by the inexplicable powerboost, well, it didn't show. At all. Nope. It did of course that he knew its effect. Alexis simply continued undeterred. "Next, I'll activate my Icicle Sword equip spell! It gives my Ice Knight an extra 500 Attack and Defense points," Alexis exposited.

A snowstorm swept around the icy knight. A jagged blade of ice formed around his unused hand, restricting the mobility of that appendage to near... absolute zero! YEAAAAHHH! [2200/1700]

"But wait, there's more," she revealed. "Namely, that any monster equipped with Icicle Sword gets a boost to its attacking capabilities: Now, Ice Knight can attack Spells and Traps on the field, not just monsters."

Mister Harrison's face dropped in amazement, an expression mirrored by several dozen onlookers. "So, you're saying," Harrison began after regaining a measure of his composure, "that your Chuckles the merry snowman has heaps of battlepower _and _can attack all the cards I put down? Nice combo; weird like ya wouldn't believe, but nice."

"Thanks, Mister Harrison," she accepted the compliment. Ice Knight sweatdropped, mortified and shamed beyond measure at being referred to as 'Chuckles the merry snowman'; maybe so. "Next, I'll place a single face-down card, and end my turn with that."

"Sweetness," the Obelisk cheered, performing his own draw... with gusto. "Alright, check it! By discarding a Kuriboh, any Kuriboh, from my hand, I get to Special Summon this guy! Winged Kuriboh LV4!"

The card was slammed with all the force of a peacock down on the Disk. A sudden shadow enveloped the entire Dueling field, startling both Alexis and the other ten Dueling individuals.

Alexis looked up, and was met with what she could only call a Winged Kuriboh literally the size of the Slifer Red Dorm. Its amounts of battlestrength were presented front and center. [300/200]

_"So he uses a Kuriboh Deck?" _Alexis speculated. _"But what does LV4 do? ... LV10 destroys out the opponent's monsters and deals massive damage afterwards, and LV9's effect made it incredibly strong... but is LV4's effect even on the same track?"_

"Yeah, he might not look like a big deal, but his ability def's is," Mister Harrison conceded sheepishly. "Because with this guy on my field, I can select one of your turn phases, and cut it out by the root; you're not the only one with unorthodox tricks, Miss Rhodes."

"I... never even implied that I was," she corrected with mild apprehension. "But which phase are you taking out; my draw phase or my battle phase?"

Mister Harrison hesitated to answer. His expression turned thoughtful. Finally he replied, "Uh, your battle phase, I guess, or maybe your end phase... nah, squash that idea, how would that even work? Anyway, I end my turn."

The female obelisk drew wordlessly. She recognized it as her White Night Queen. _"Perfect; this is just what I could use right now. _I activate a Spell, Star Blast!" she slid the green-hued card into her Disk. The contraption hummed merrily as it enacted the function of the magical card.

_"I've heard of that card; but it's supposed to be pretty hella expensive to use," _Mister Harriso frowned. "Don't forget, you can't attack this turn."

"Now I can reduce the Level of my White Night Queen, simply by paying 500 of my Life Points for each star she loses," she exposited.

In the middle of the Duel Field, the White Night ruler appeared as a ghostly figure in the darkness. Surrounding her were seven red-colored spheres, each of which were emblazoned with golden five-pronged stars.

A chilly atmosphere seemed to descend over the Duel field which had largely moved past the summoning of the gargantuan furball, from the mere partial presence of the literal ice queen.

Abrubtly, the spheres shattered, one by one, and with each, Alexis' Life Points dropped substantially. [Alexis: 2500]

"Now, I'll normal summon my White Night Queen, in Attack Mode!" Alexis yelled for all to hear. Chunks of solid ice which had appeared outta frick-knew-where flew together towards a single spot beside Ice Knight, lumping together into a... a misshapen human-sized block of ice.

The outer layers of the holographic ice faded, revealing Mai Valentine, or one who resembled her... if not for the dark-blue hair-color, and if not for the white-blue skin, and if not for the slivers of ice that apparently served to cover up her shapely and otherwise bare body; though it fit with the whole ice motif, it made very little sense. Then again, Duel Monsters. [2100/800]

"That is _hardcore!" _Mister Harrison made known his amazement. "It's only your second turn, and you've already busted out two powerful monsters! I can't wait to see what's next!"

"You're too kind," Alexis shot back, "... but I don't have any other moves to make, so, your turn."

He drew wordlessly, as she had. "Well, why don't we just call it another turn for Thomas Harrison?"

Murmurs of confusion ran through the sections of the horde of spectators that were watching their Duel, over the fact that Harrison was doing bugger all even though they could see that he held more than enough cards to do.

"Really?" Alexis ventured to raise an eyebrow at the unorthodox declaration.

"Silence, fool," Harrison boomed forcefully, speaking in what could only be called uncharacteristic language for him. "Harrison does what Harrison decides."

"Okay, jeez," Alexis muttered, a bit indignant about his manner of address. Inwardly, she wondered what his deal was, apart from eccentricity.

"And since it's your turn, my Kuriboh acts up," Harrison declared. The immense demonic ball of fur cooed softly over them all. "Bid your battle phase goodbye."

Alexis nodded in acceptance, and conducted her draw. "You can't keep stalling forever," the blonde admonished him, her voice across the dimly lit field. "Sooner or later, I'll find something that'll break through that Kuriboh of yours."

Harrison smirked. "Maybe you will," he conceded. "But I've got a hunch that I'll stall for this turn too."

Alexis grumbled, knowing him to be right. "I'll end my turn."

"I draw," he said and did so. "And instead of ending my turn, I'll sacrifice my Winged Kuriboh LV4 along with two other Kuribohs from my hand, to summon out this guy: Kuriboh LV7!"

Above them, the behemoth shattered in uncountable holographic fragments, letting in the electrical lighting of the arena. Momentarily disoriented from the rapidly shifting conditions, Alexis missed seeing the creation of the miniature furball, as did several others. The Attack Point indicator stuck long enough for most to see it. [3000/200]

"3000 Attack Points!?" Alexis exclaimed incredulously. A general sensation of disbelief spread like wildfire among the spectators at the sight of the formidable monster. That disbelief was centered around the core idea of a Kuriboh being as strong as a Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

Harrison simply smirked triumphantly. "Now let's see them in action! Berserker Crush!"

With an angry look in its eyes, the demonic furball charged forward, only to suddenly find itself encased in a block of ice. "Huh?" Harrison asked on behalf of his frozen monster, noticing quickly that her Trap card had been activated. Wasn't that a novelty, thought nobody present.

"That, is courtesy of my Ice Barrier card," Alexis answered his inquiry, while sliding the card into her graveyard. "What it does is put your attacking monster, on _ice_: It now has 0 Attack Points, its effect is negated, and you can't change its battle position either."

Harrison groaned. "And here I thought that we could get through this here Duel without any ice puns. Still, that's one frozen hell of a card."

Alexis ignored his comment on the ice puns - they were cool, no matter what he said. _"You ain't seen nothing yet,"_ she thought to herself. A quick glance at her hand confirmed, not that she had doubted, the continued presence of Blizzard Princess and Cold Enchanter.

Harrison's thoughts were of a different: _"Birdpoop on a stick, what do I do?"_ he thought panickedly. _"Between the two of them, I can't put any Spells or Traps down, but I don't have anything big and strong enough to take out either of these... just my luck; four cards in my hand and no way out. This bit's gonner hurt... _Uhh, I'll just end my turn, I think."_  
><em>

Alexis nodded and drew what she saw to be her Ice Angel card. "Now, White Night Queen, attack his Kuriboh! Might of the White Night Ruler!" she ordered, holding her arm out forcefully._  
><em>

The literal ice queen obeyed without hesitation, swinging out her arms. From Jack Frost nowhere, gusts of wind littered with snowfall shot forth from underneath her arms, towards the already-frozen Kuriboh, like whips of frosty force.

Though one might logically expect a cold front to do bugger all, given that the demonic furball was safely preserved in a block of ice, the attack worked nonetheless; most likely, some obscure law of physics was at play, counter-intuitive though a gust of wind shattering a block of ice might seem.

The conjured wind currents swept around the frozen furball, coating the prismatic ice in a layer of pale white. Then it shattered into exactly eighty-four pieces... huh. The winds engulfed the Duelist as well, and it was fortunate that was a mere hologram, because the genuine arcticle could have presented a risk, albeit minor, of frostbite. [Harrison: 1900]

"Time for attack number two: Ice Knight, end this Duel!" she ordered again. The warrior charged forth, with every intention of inflicting a physical condition which in formal terms was called not stabbity-stab-stab but a grievous stab wound. Psycho...

Harrison's reaction to being stabbed in the gut with a blade of ice was fairly subdued, but in his mind, he was screaming bloody murder. Who could blame the bloke? Through the arena sounded a blunt-edged 'beeeeeep' as his Life Points dropped to zero and this Duel concluded. [Harrison: 0]

* * *

><p><strong>Y'know, I think I'm really starting to develop a distinctive writing style with this chapter; said <em>style<em> being almost wholly detached from reality and sanity, with only occasional moments of lucidity.**

**Now, I believe that I forgot this bit; pretty much the closest thing I can think of to a 'Card of The Day' thing in written format, without excessive whistles and bells, which probably should be included now that I think about it...**

**. . . . . Alexis . . . . .**

**Icicle Sword | Equip Spell**

**Equip only to a LIGHT or WATER monster. Your opponent takes no battle damage from battles involving the equipped monster. The equipped monster gains 500 ATK/DEF. You can have the equipped monster target Spell/Trap Cards on the field (treat that card as a monster with ATK/DEF of 0) for battle attacks.**


	4. The Shadow Duelists 1 - Redux

**Firstly, might I simply say, iloveyugiohgx93, that I am less than inclined to extend that particular courtesy, due to several causes.**

**1: Your charming tendency to incessantly spam other fanfics with the preposterous demand that they feature at least 1000 words per chapter. Quite hypocritical, too, given how several of your stories don't meet that 'requirement', so you evidently know better.**

**2: Your delightful tendency to offer the same commentary, over and over and over, in your reviews, with very little variation.**

**3: How you've set up multiple accounts for yourself, simply to impose that silly demand of yours; does 'cleopatrayuki87' ring a bell?**

**...**

**Anyway: In this chapter, Maximillion Pegasus, the creator of Duel Monsters, makes a non-gratuitous cameo. Also, Tarzan sightings are involved. These are exactly as connected as they sound.**

**At least, that was the original plan for this chapter and the next two. But those plans, evidently, have changed. Instead we get the degeneration of sanity encapsulated in a chapter. Also: The narrow sidestepping of the Stations of the Canon. Also: The narration is deranged.**

**The Tarzan-sightings, though, they stay in.**

* * *

><p>As one might imagine, a few days had passed by on Duel Academy Island; students had studied, teachers had taught, plotters had plotted, some had delved into the worlds of the occult, and a random-ass muscular dude was prowling the woods; to quote Shakespeare: Finally we are all the same, all is as it has always been... or perhaps that wasn't the bard to have said that originally, but the narration digressed.<p>

As one might expect, a musclebound man roaming the jungle had quickly become the topic of conversations outside of the classrooms; very few knew about the Tarzanesque student, though, so it was not a popular subject nor was it much believed in by those who did know about it. Who knew?

Ah, but the matter of the human who lived in the forest with the animals and the wilderness, like Tarzan, was currently no concern of Alexis', and a story for another time and place regardless.

Quietude reigned in the bedroom. Alexis observed with contentment that everything was ready. Today, there would be no classes, no supernatural and/or weird stuff, no high-stakes Duel Monsters matches, nothing but her, and her Battle City DVD, and a bowl of popcorn to enjoy the show with.

What she was not aware of, was the presence of otherworldly entities dwelling within her personal name, as they had set up shop inside the names of Chazz Princeton, and Syrus Truesdale, and Atticus Rhodes, and Vellian Crowler, and Midori Hibiki. The surrealism of the notion still baffled the narration text to no end; for one thing, names didn't- they couldn't- how could they be _there_?

Such existential oddities aside, what was inside her name- holy crap, if one believed that eldritch abominations existing within human names was a surreal and silly notion, seeing the actual territory constructed within would just about shatter the last vestiges of one's sanity.

In whatever form of space existed within the name of Alexis Rhodes was not a hellish landscape, but something quite different, the idealized image of a tropical landscape. It appeared quite strongly that they had not set up 'shop', but instead a sandy beach, a shimmering morning sun, a bright ocean that extended beyond the horizon, perfect clear skies, and a pretty nice house for that region.

How the crap had a pair of lovecraftian horrors masquerading as human preteens (why?) managed or even desired to conjure up a vacation home in what was no way a physical space? That wasn't a way of expressing their antipathy towards what humanity considered the laws of nature, that was just sheer pointless silly bullcrap. The narration currently required a potent alcoholic substance to forget about this bit of nonsensicality.

In the house's sole living room was- the narration text felt a burgeoning urge to leave, as it really rather sorta absolutely did _not _want to narrate this absurd, surreal crap, but what choice did it have in the matter?

In the house's sole living room was the Celestial that assumed the bodily shape of the Signer known as Luna, and perhaps had once been her. Her identity was neither here nor there, for the narration didn't really care. She had elected to manifest as a singular being, unlike the one she knew as her brother and lover.

Scattered leisurely around the logically unable to exist living room was the male Celestial, in four vessels operated by the same core mind. Or, at least an outside observer would perceive four bodies, because currently he existed in what humanity would understand as a state of quantum superposition.

One of his current material shapes was a human skeleton, stripped of flesh, that moved through the power of his own mind. The second was a bubbling orange-colored smattering of flesh-soup, that served no purpose other than to produce poisons and toxins. The third was... a geometric shape that was contradictorily both spherical yet held enough angles and edges to appear physically painful, and orbited the Luna look-a-like. The fourth was the outwardly human body of Leo that was lazily cuddling with Luna on the room's couch.

"Oh, Leo," she said with a giggle as her other half pressed a soft kiss into her neck. In a brief-lived second, the greenette mused that this 'snuggling' concept was a fairly entertaining pastime.

Without withdrawing from her neck, Leo's fourth body conveyed psionically, 'Yes, my fair lady?'

Luna failed responding, still lightly disoriented by the sensations, the warmth of human flesh against human flesh. With an unsteady breath, she composed herself once more. "As pleasurable as this is, I believe that it would be prudent to carry on our investigation into the Chaos Magic Empire."

Leo shifted, moving away from her neck. "Quite correct. Business before pleasure, as goes the human saying, and this activity is very enjoyable, verging on addictive."

A smile formed on Luna's countenance. "Indeed."

They thought, and with that thought, they banished all forms of sound and noise from their current, surreal domain. Their bodies remained in the weird-ass place, but fragments of their consciousnesses separated from the vaster wholes, drifting through their own intents across the veil of the dimensions. And like so, interdimensional astral projection was added to the metaphorical (not) list of power.

Those fragments-of-mind emerged into a dimension not truly dissimilar from Earth in appearance, but radically alien in structure and layout. The slivers existed without shape and form and substance that human eyes could physically perceive; no crap, Sherlock.

Even reduced to less than nothing when compared with the totality of the pandimensional beings, they still possessed sufficient power to conjure up material bodies, if they cared to, which they seemingly did not. What these remnamts did do, was form a mere telepathic illusion around the space they occupied.

To any human or Duel Monster observer, it would appear that a pair of children were flying in gleeful and blatant defiance of gravity. From their metaphysical vantage points in the cloudy skies, the two saw through their not-material eyes the land below that extended into relative infinity, in all directions.

What they sensed most keenly was, through their higher sensory abilities that pertained to space and time on the most fundamental level available, the faint traces of 'reality-damage', scar tissue in spacetime. It was unmistakable to them, the scent of raw bleeding power that emanated from the nearby castle, the arcane energies building within.

In the fraction of a picosecond, they arrived at what was officially and in full called: The Throne Room of the Chaos Magic Empire Castle, Dominion of the Beasts Division. Cathartic, really.

The few minions, Breakers and Defenders, gathered in the throne leapt into action against the sudden incursion of a telepathic illusion operated remotely from a different dimension, what a wondrous thing.

The psionic imitation of Leo rolled his bloody mental eyes. That single and slight gesture halted the assemblage of Duel Spirits in their tracks.

To be technical, what Leo had done was the usage of telepathic power and telekinetic power in unison to simulate that time stood still. On paper, it wasn't exactly the ability to halt the flow of time, but the practice of genuinely stopping time resulted in a considerably long list of problems to regards to the laws of physics.

The manifestions of the Celestials commenced their counterattacks on their immobilized opponents. With less than a thought from the beings who were themselves merely a thought, Ancient Fairy Dragon and Power Tool Dragon manifested.

Momentarily, the psychic timestop broke for a single poor Breaker the Magical Warrior, allowing him to let out a gasp at the dragons that had, from his perspective, appeared from nowhere. They slew him before he could even begin to wonder what had happened.

The other eight were dispatched as easily as the one Breaker had been. One by one, their bodies discorporated into dying vestiges of spiritual energy, as was apparently a law of nature in what was called the Duel Monsters Spirit Worlds.

A quick glance between them, even without applying mind-to-mind communication, confirmed that they both were aware of the same particular detail: That everything in this castle was made of pure Chaos Magic.

Leo extended his arm towards the floor, which was all that he could be seen to physically do. One could not truly understand what the Celestial did, without first understanding the nature of Chaos Magic. Essentially, it was the arcane arts _to _the arcane arts: Just as magic violated the laws of conventional science, so too did Chaos Magic violate the laws of mundane magic and science, offering far greater power at virtually no cost and without requiring study.

What one might then question, would be the relative absence of Chaos Magic. The answer was that Chaos Magic was detrimental to the stability of reality, as previously exposited about, quite a bit above. Or, in layman's terms:

Leo's simplistic gesture of sticking his arm out and his own Chaos Magic power, it somehow caused the floor beneath them and beneath them and above them and around them to become transmuted into a liquid substance that glowed brightly in all the colors of the rainbow.

A second before it had been transmuted into such, it had been unraveled into a form of nothingness that tasted like a tree. At the same time, physical space around the pair had ceased to be colorless and was now a gaudy shade of purple. The last vestiges of the narration's strained sanity crumbled under the strain of what was transpiring.

Even their own mental manifestations on that plane of reality did not escape the exertions of his Chaos Magic. Luna's left hand... it... it was now sticking out of her backs, literally plural, now, a good dozen hands out of three backs. What?

Naturally, the rulers of the castle took note of the invaders. The Dark Magician of Chaos and Dark Magician Girl of Chaos - who else, the narration snarked tiredly - charged towards them. Though they were but two individuals, it should come as a surprise to no-one that it visually appeared as though they were approaching from dozens of directions all at once, given the general reality screwiness going on.

That new arrival, caused the conflict to escalate into actual hostility, and made it truly bizarre. What transpired couldn't truly be described or relayed or explained to second-hand observers. The only means of doing so would be loose metaphor that conveyed the gist of it and what it felt like, not what it actually was. When both sides were capable of butchering reality itself and exist, unharmed, in the bleeding gash of spacetime, sanity tended to be told to take a hike.

What happened next could only be described as: The space between where the two Celestials and where the Chaos-wielding Spellcasters were, was turned inside out, pushed around a bit. Then, a bastard spear made from the corpse of an hour was hurtled at Leo. It disappeared as quickly as it had formed, through no act of his or Luna's.

Space itself began to convulse as both sides shoved at it, commanding it to close around the other pair and burst like a balloon. All around the foursome, outside the perimeter of spacetime distortion, their minions watched, failing entirely to comprehend what was transpiring in front of them. Words failed to do the surreal sight justice, a Bau the Black Dog Beast reflected, but merely to state that itself, it failed to convey the spectacle of it.

Others still were flat-out terrified by the incomprehensible event before them. A few watched with wordless acceptance of the impossible and inconceivable, and revised their mental opinions of their masters; no Duel Monster could ever accomplish anything on this scale, of that Chaos Command Magician was certain. Not even the Earthbound Immortals of myth would be able to do this.

Steadily, the core 'Chaos Zone', to borrow a term, began to expand. Space visibly splintered, and radiant darkness poured like the fluid it currently was from the cracks in reality.

Forces as similar to gravity as electromagnetism itself was to poorly made turtle soup began to pull at the Monster Spirits, and showed them HOW EVIL THEY WERE.

The hell-hound of the assemblage of minions began to change fur-color for little apparent reason, from black to green to violet to ultraviolet to orange to brown to scarlet to black to white to blue to gray to purple to yellow to infrared to red to red to red to red to red to red to blue to blue.

From a direction that had more than three spatial dimensions to it came several bolts of dark lightning, slaying the few minions that were practically consumed by the crescendo of crazy already. Quite the mundane display, despite the narration of it.

The four entities continued simply their reality-devouring struggle. Leo raised his twelfth hand. Towards the Chaos magicians hurtled now a triangular object of morality rather than physicality.

The lady mage of Chaos screamed at the top of her lungs. Around the object that Leo had conjured, there grew now normal spacetime, making it impossible, physically and metaphysically, that the arsenals of weird crap that constituted their respective weaponries could exist.

The meager drop of colorless space that she had created was consumed within seconds by the irrationality they had infected the world with, like acid melting through flesh and bone.

"Why do you oppose us, strangers?" the Dark Magician of Chaos called out to their mystery assailants. His voice carried clearly, despite the immense reality damage. The words immediately burst into flame, their non-existent substance ignited by the 83% breakdown of logic in the area.

Luna's reply came quickly, delivered through a dozen forcibly-created bodies, all of varying size. "We have made the assessment that firstly, the power you harness is detrimental to the stability of reality. Secondly, we find you both unworthy of wielding it, as you only use it for the sake of your own selfish desires."

"Hypocrites," the Dark Magician Girl of Chaos spat. "What gives you two such authority? What, aside from your own arrogance, permits you to dictate how Chaos Magic is 'rightfully' to be used? You have no right to decide us unworthy of it!"

"We have the right," the legions of Leo calmly rebuked in unison. With every syllable he spoke, scores of his bodies disappeared and a differing amount appeared in their places.

Being as it was that the laws of physics termed 'conservation of mass' and 'conservation of energy' had been long since removed from the equation, short-circuited from the very start of this skirmish, as a matter of fact, it should not come as a surprise that- never mind, that wasn't about to happen, anyway.

If it happened to sound bewildering or surreal, that was perhaps inevitable, for how could one describe the indescribable?

Slowly, the reality-disrupting conflagration died down, well sort of. In the aftermath of the conflict, that particular area of the Dominion of the Beasts had been reduced to nothingness, not in the sense that the physical objects there had been damaged beyond all repair or recognition, but in the sense that the universe itself was broken there.

What was there, after the struggle, was a formless senseless void, where all the laws of physics and magic had ceased to apply, where reality was subjective rather than objective.

The ethereal manifestations of the two posthumans observed the thing with senses outside those possessed by humans, and knew what it could lead to: Though unlikely, a sufficiently powerful entity, human or Duel Monster or otherwise, could construct their own alternate dimension through this phenomenon. Luna reflected, that very few beings in the multiverse would have the abilities _and _the knowledge_ and _the sensory abilities to actually construct a dimension, so it was... _somewhat _improbable that it actually happened.

Regardless of all that, the two quickly set about the task of mending what they deemed an object too irrational to exist. In Leo's hand appeared now something that eyes could not perceive. Whatever it actually was, it served its seeming purpose. Through the whole strange expanse, in spaces no larger than atoms, normal space/time/physics/magic resumed their normal manners of functioning, normal for that particular dimension that was.

Like a mist lifting, the reality/spacetime disruption was dispelled, piece by piece, the integrity of that small bit of spacetime mended before it amounted to a problem. It took some time, however, to fully undo the damage that their battle with the two Chaos Spellcasters had inflicted upon that dimension. About an hour later, they were done with the whole process of restructuring reality.

With their purpose served, the telepathic/interdimensional projections were allowed to fade, across the dimensional barriers.

Back in the logically impossible space inside Alexis Rhodes' name - the narration could still not wrap its metaphorical head around the somewhat surreal concept, for it was apparently a sentient and/or sapient entity in its own right - Leo and Luna were still inside their engineered bedroom. Where else would they be?

Alexis herself was doing exactly what she had been doing before, watching the Battle City tournament on DVD, or rather, only the Battle City Finals. The human remained wholly unaware, through all of her five senses, of the immense battle just waged across dimensions.

* * *

><p><strong>Well, that was certainly eventful. Originally, the whole Chaos Magic Empire thing was planned, at some point, to play a MUCH larger role in this story, but I guess not. Anyway, here's today's <strong>**'Card of The Day'...**

**. . . . . Dark Magician Girl of Chaos . . . . .**

**Dark Magician Girl of Chaos | 7/DARK/Spellcaster/Effect | 2300/2200**

**When this card is Normal or Special Summoned: You can target 1 Trap Card in your Graveyard; add that target to your hand. Banish any monster destroyed by battle with this card.**


End file.
